LGBTI rights very rarely came to the forefront of the most recent election period. There were no openly identified LGBTI individuals on the candidate lists of any of the parties, but following yesterday’s election, there were some representatives chosen from among LGBTI rights-defending CHP and HDP representatives who had signed the LGBTI Rights Pledge.

As a result of the “LGBTIs in Parliament” campaign led by SPoD LGBTI with support from LGBTI activists from all over Turkey leading up to the June 7th 2015 general elections, 22 representatives from the CHP and HDP signed the LGBTI Rights Agreement upon being elected. After the November 1st repeat of the general election, 16 of these candidates were elected once again.

57 candidates for parliament signed SPoD LGBTI’s LGBTI Rights Pledge ahead of the elections and promised to protect LGBT rights.

57 candidates for parliament from Malatya, Edirne, Izmir, Ankara, and Istanbul have signed the Social Policies, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Studies Association’s (SPoD) LGBTI Rights Pledge ahead of the June 7 parliamentary elections. Among the signatories are Aylin Nazlıaka, Enis Berberoğlu, Sezgin Tanrıkulu, Filiz Kerestecioğlu, Melda Onur, Pınar Aydınlar, Şafak Pavey, and Musa Çam who say that they LGBTIs are not alone in their struggle.